Josefine Cronholm is an extraordinary Swedish singer, age 32, and
lives in Denmark. With her solo-debut-album "Wild Garden", she already
received broad recognition; her latest release "Hotel Paradise"
followed in winter 2003. An equally strong performer as she is a songwriting
talent, she also is a very warm and humorous person. Never acting like
a star or with any manirism, she posesses a natural charisma.

Josefine
Cronholm

Katja Duregger met Josefine Cronholm after the first concert with
her group IBIS in Germany at the festival in Schloss Elmau.

Katja: Did you ever expect so much attention with your debut?

Josefine: No, actually! I donīt know are there so many people
paying attention to it? (laughs)

Katja: I do think so!

Josefine: Yes, I know there are some people (smiles),
but if you talk about the international response, Iīm still really not
sure. Maybe that sounds strange to say but I donīt think about this kind
of things. Of course I like to spread my music as wide as possible. And
if it happens, I think thatīs fantastic. I know that there are some people
in Germany who like my music and that I start to get an audience here,
which is wonderful. Actually, this concert in Schloss Elmau is my first
concert with IBIS in Germany.

Katja: But youīve been here with other groups?

Josefine: Yes, I did one concert with Marylin Mazur and
some years ago with Django Bates - but with this band itīs the
first time. But to come back back to your first question: What I wanted
to say is, Iīm not the kind of person that thinks in terms of success,
who does things only to reach as many people as possible. Iīm not like
that.

Katja: Yes, your music "sounds" like that. It doesn't give the impression
of a person who struggles to be liked.

Josefine: Yes, exactly, I never think in this terms. I just do
the things as I feel. IBIS started actually it started with a duo: Me
and the pianist Henrik Sundh. We met and we started to play my
music, which I began to compose at the time I moved to Copenhagen - about
eight years ago. Beginning to compose was a real breakthrough for me.
But there was no big intention behind it.

I just met Henrik, I showed him some ideas and he liked it. We didnīt
have any gigs in the beginning. At that time I had a lot of gigs with
other groups, most of all with Django Bates, which was another
kind of breakthrough for me: People got to know me and I had the chance
to learn a lot from Djangos wonderful musical universe and travelled
all over the world.

Josefine
Cronholm - "Hotel Paradise"

Katja: How did it come that you concentrated more on your own music
and put a real band together?

Josefine: First it was this duo and then, slowly, I did put one
on one. One day I thought I wanted to have a trumpet player, so I met
Flemming Agerskov. His way of creating music, his universe is totally
according to my taste. Then it was a trio and later I met Lisbeth Diers
and I thought sheīs great - so I called her and we got together. Actually
we played for quite a while without a bass player, because I wanted to
do something without the bass. That was really interesting for a while.
But after some time I wanted to have the bass as well and I was lucky
enough to find Thommy Andersson.

Katja: What is the connection between you all?

Josefine: What connects us is that we are five very strong individuals,
very strong in our own voices. And as a group, none of these persons is
saying: "Iīm the leader!" We are very dynamic and very open minded, also
open in our hearts. We are all very good in listening to each other.

For me, music is a way to reach the nucleus, get into
the true essence of a story. Not the story in terms of lyrics, the story
in the sense of the feeling of a song, the feeling of the atmosphere,
of what kind of story it tells. So we ask ourselves: what do we want to
describe? And I write the music, so I have an idea, but after that we
meet and we create the music together.

Katja: What are in your opinion the most important skills a musician
needs to have so that you like to play with him or her?

Josefine: A good balance between a strong individual is important,
a strong ego and an open mind with the ability to listen. An open mind
that is willing to discover whatīs in there. Not these cool musicians
that think: "Oh, yeah, music is cool, this life is cool, Iīm cool!" you
know?

That seems very boring to me. A very boring cliche. When I create my
music, itīs about finding out the essence. Itīs about a strong will of
knowing consciously what you want to say. The creativity of listening,
being aware of the other one. Thereīs a big difference between a big ego
and being selfish. A big ego is important, itīs not something you need
to be scared of. In the end itīs what makes us open our mouths and believe
in what we say. And it supports the lust and the passion of doing music.

Josefine
Cronholm

Katja: All this is being transported in your music, itīs possible
to get all this in just listening to it consciously! But  where
lie the roots for your being so strong by yourself in what you do, being
so grounded?

Josefine: Iīm not sure... I donīt think that my "being grounded"
is part of some kind of evolution. I think it was always there. To me,
itīs all about being present. Iīm not able to work without being constantly
present, being completely into it. Thatīs why I could never do music as
some kind of job, just to make money.

But itīs very hard to talk about presence because: where does it come
from? I donīt know. Itīs all about the will to be there, like being here
right now, not wanting to be somewhere else, also with the music, not
thinking like: "Oh, I wish I could do that or this." Itīs all about here
and now. Thatīs the most fantastic thing about music. What is happening
now and knowing that it could never be the same.

Iīm not able to work without being constantly present.
Thatīs why I could never do music just to make money.

Thatīs why I chose this kind of music: Thereīs the room to always create
something new! Because doing concerts night after night, doing always
the same thing, means death. Itīs like the goal seems to be the most important
thing and in my music the process is the most important thing. To explain
it better: I have a child, a two year old son. And I "created"
that child. But as soon as itīs gone from my body, I have to set it free,
because then it has itīs own life, itīs own will (smiles)

Katja: Now you start to get attention, a career. People want to hear
you, which means more gigs, more travelling. How do you connect that to
your life with a two year old child?

Josefine: Itīs hard, really! But I know that if I couldnīt do
my music, I would be unhappy. I would be an unhappy mother and this would
be bad for my son, too! I want him to understand my world like I want
to understand his world. But every time I have to leave him it´s
like hell: Itīs breaking my heart. But I talk to him, he just learned
to say these little words like "mama". And I was so glad because
I thought: Wow he has a word for me! (laughs)

Josefine
Cronholm

Katja: Did your son change your priorities in life?

Josefine: Yes! He will always, always, always, always be the
first in my life! This doesnīt mean that I donīt leave him  at the
moment Iīm here, you know  but if he needs me, I will be there.
But speaking about him is also a metaphor about creating something. And
then letting it go. Itīs like a song, creating a piece of music. And then
give it to some people I believe in and feel connected to, and feel that
they are taking it with love and creativity to their own magic. Thatīs
very amazing, I love that.

Katja: Do you think this way of creating is connected to your home
country Sweden, or to Scandinavia? There are a lot of strong individuals
coming from this part of the world. Is there more room for living this
kind of individuality? Like a "playground" for finding a strong
inner voice?

Josefine: An important thing for me was the Swedish tradition
 and the space. I can only speak for myself: I grew up with Swedish
folk music and jazz, in the middle of a big, wide forest. I will always
keep that deep inside of me. To me everything started with the silence,
the silence of the nature around me.

I grew up in the middle of a big, wide forest.
Everything started with the silence of the nature around me.

I donīt think that you can only find that in Sweden or Scandinavia.
If you want, you can find that in other countries, too. But maybe itīs
easier there, I donīt know. If I look at Denmark, where I live now and
which is a very small country, I realize that in Sweden there is a lot
of space. Itīs such a big country, with not so many people living there.
Maybe itīs easier to get grounded and find your own space in a country
like that. You can scream and no one would hear you  thatīs wonderful!
You cannot do that in Denmark.

Katja: What will be your next step? A new CD with IBIS or something
completely different?

Josefine: Iīm not sure. My label wants me to record a Swedish
composer. One of my absolute favourites, Cornelis Vreeswijk. Heīs
dead, he was a poet, guitar player and songwriter  and he wrote
some beautiful songs. They want me to do that, but Iīm not sure. I also
want to compose.

I think itīs gonna take a while before I do another recording. I need
time and space to start thinking, to get a picture of what I want to do
next. Because sometimes, like in this period, after two weeks on tour
in Sweden and the last CD, I feel totally dry and empty, musicwise. Itīs
ok that way, because I cannot really press something new. I need to be
in peace with what Iīm doing.